Tatas, Star to launch Space TV by year-end

Promising "competitive pricing", Space TV, the DTH venture of Tatas and Star, on Friday said it would begin operations by the end of this year.

The Rs 1,600 crore (Rs 16 billion) venture, which has already been delayed as its file kept shuttling between various ministries for clearance, has begun discussions with all major broadcasters to complete its bouquet.

"We plan to launch the service by the end of 2005. Our service will be competitively priced in the market," Vikram Kaushik, CEO, Space TV said.

The DTH market in India, still in infancy, has already witnessed a competition on the pricing front with Subhash Chandra-promoted 'Dish TV' recently slashing prices to ward off threats by public broadcaster Prasar Bharati's free-to-air platform 'DD Direct+'.

Asked whether the delay in starting services would hurt its prospects, especially when Dish TV and 'DD Direct+' were already operating in the market, he replied in the negative.

"We are confident that our product offering will be compelling enough to compete effectively in the Indian market," Kaushik said.

Asked whether Dish TV, which is also a pay platform and has been in the market since October 2003, was a threat to Space TV's prospects, he said, "India is a large enough market for more than one DTH operator."

It may be mentioned here that Star India and Sony have so far refused to share content with Dish TV, citing concerns on piracy and other commercial issues.

Asked whether Space TV would make attempts to get Chandra's Zee channels on its platform, Kaushik said discussions were on with various broadcasters.